I can’t tell you how much I love Halloween. It seems that at every stage of my life there is a Halloween memory that tops the last. But childhood Halloweens have a special place. Maybe it’s because nothing can ever be quite as magical as a child at Halloween, no matter how extravagant the party. Maybe it’s because as a child I lived in Chicago, where the weather could be just as gruesome as the holiday itself. But, there’s one memory that haunts me to this day.
My school had a Halloween Carnival every year, back when we actually called them Halloween Carnivals and not Fall Festivals or Harvest Festivals. My school was a K-8. I could walk or bike to school every day, weather permitting. It’s one of the settings for my latest story, 13 on Halloween. The Halloween Carnival was something I looked forward to most of all. The Mystery Hand, especially.
The Mystery Hand was always in Miss Kelly’s room. Miss Kelly taught fifth grade and was a riot. She had the best sense of humor. Miss Kelly never married. She was an ex-nun, which was exceedingly fascinating to a girl who took piano lessons from the sisters at the convenient two towns over [we had four kids in the family and the penguins had great rates]. I always wondered as a child why the sisters kicked out such a nice, funny lady like Miss Kelly.
Anyhoo, back to the Halloween Carnival. Every classroom had a different booth. There was the typical ping-pong ball throw to win a goldfish. And the cake walk, which was probably my second favorite thing. The Haunted House was always in Mr. Guide’s band room, the biggest room in the school. But no matter how many times I stuck my hand in the “bucket of brains” it didn’t really do anything for me. But The Mystery Hand always freaked me out.
So Miss Kelly’s room was always pitch black and I would walk in. And there, on the left, was this painted haunted house, twice as big as me, with a bunch of cutout windows. A little bell hung from a string at the front door. I’d get all trembly and ring the bell. I never knew which window The Mystery Hand would poke out of, all veiny and gross, like Frankenstein’s hand only it wasn’t ever green but it always had scars and veins sticking out of it. And maybe it was because I thought the rest of the monster was on the other side. Like REALLY on the other side. When the hand dropped the prize into my little bag, I’d dash out of the room so fast I was freaking invisible. And I’d always go back. It was horrible-wonderful, as my mom would say. And it’s only now as I type, that I realize who the monster was. A funny, ex-nun named Miss Kelly.
Here’s what’s new at the Carnival this week!
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LOL how AWESOME! Ms. Kelly sounds fantastic. I’m with you–I love Halloween and had a hard time picking a memory–every year I throw myself into the fun of it. 🙂 Great share, Laura!
She was a great teacher and a whole lot of fun. I loved The Mystery Hand so much that one year when the kids came to our house to trick-or-treat they got to visit The Mystery Hand too! It was great fun:) Thanks for stopping by.
Schools call them Harvest Festivals? Pfft. That is just as religious as calling it a Halloween Festival. Some people…I swear.
Yeah, right? I mean by the time my kids were going to [and I was involved in putting together] their Halloween Festivals at their elementary schools, no one could call them Halloween Festivals. We HAD to call it a Harvest Festival. Crazy! I guess Halloween offended some folks in the district. This was in Southern California. Not as laid-back and easy going as you’d think, huh?
What a great story! I don’t remember that many Halloween’s as a child, but I became a mom on Halloween so that stuck with me. It’s now one of my fav holidays! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this. I wish I’d had a teacher like Ms Kelly!
Kimberly, Thanks for swinging by. Miss Kelly was a special lady:) How awesome to have a Halloween birthday! [just like Roxie in 13 on Halloween] What a lovely memory! The best:)
Ping Pong goldfish! I never could win one of those; the cheaters. 😉
Hee-hee. I’d win, but those poor goldfish. They never did last too long. Talk about post-traumatic stress!!! How’d you like to suffer ping pong balls to the head only to slosh around for hours in a kids pocket only to end up in a bowl of undoubtedly over-chlorinated water!
Your post brought to mind the wonderful carnivals at the elementry school near my childhood home. Thanks so much, Laura, for reminding me of some other great Halloween times.
Tina, I’m so glad you stopped by:) Glad you got to relive a few happy times here today:) Happy Halloween!